Hood catch



y 1936- A, CLAUD-MANTLE I 2,040,392-

HOOD CATO H Filed Oct. 1, 1934 Z/ 'INVENTOR HRTHLJR DLHUD-MHNTLE.

' ATTORNEY.

Patented May 12 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE noon CATCH a; Arthur Gland-Mantle, Trumbull, Conn, assignor to The Bassick Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a

corporation of Connecticut Application October 1, 1934, Serial No. 746,285

The present invention relates to hood catches for securing the hoods of automobiles, and has for an object to provide a hood. catch which will h eifectually hold the hood downwardly and inwardly against looseness and rattling. Another object is to provide a hood catch in which the handle means will be exteriorly disposed and in which the spring actuated lever arm and operating parts of the catch will be interiorly disposed, so that only the handle need have a highly or expensively finished surface. A further object is to provide a hood catch in which the parts will be arranged in generally horizontal direction out of relation with the sill, thus providing a catch which may be easily and positively operated, and which at the same time will present a neat and inconspicuous appearance, free from unsightly mechanism, and which lends itself to streamline design,harmonizing with other parts of the auto- 0 mobile structure.

A further object is to provide a catch in which the spring means will be mounted on the lever in proximity to the keeper and will be so arranged that the manual pressure required to tension it in engaging and disengaging the catch will be relatively light.

- Another object is to provide a mounting ele-' ment for the catch which may be used either for right or left catches, and further to provide a 30 construction in which the lever and mounting element may be conveniently formed of sheet metal, to the end that a strong, eflicient, compact and inexpensive structure is produced.

A still further object is to provide a hood catch which will utilize the springiness or inherent resiliency of the metal of the hood side to exert inward holding pressure.

With the above and other objects in view a 40 embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, and this embodiment will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims. 7 45 In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of one corner of an automobile hood and the adjoining cowl and sill structure, and showing the hood catch, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, 60 attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. 55 Fig. 4 is an inside elevation of the catch.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4. V

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic horizontal sectional view of the hood, partially broken away, and showing somewhat exaggerated the flexing of the hood in the operative position of the catches at each end.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing. r

Referring to the'drawing, the hood I0 is adapted to close against the inset marginal edge portions I l ll of the radiator frame and 'cowl structure l2-l2, and at each end of the hood,

and adapted to cooperate with keepers provided on the radiator frame and cowl structures, hood catches, according to the illustrated embodiment of the invention, are mounted. g The hood catch comprises a mounting member formed of sheet metal and consisting of a mar ginal flange or base portion [3 secured by rivets I4 to the inner side of the hood, a raised pivot mounting portion l5, a retaining strap portion [6 disposed forwardly of and outwardly offsetfrom the pivot mounting portion 15, and a pair ofin- 5 wardly projecting spaced ears I'I-ll'forwardly of and inwardly offset from the retaining strap portion H5.- V The hood catch lever l8, preferablyv formed of sheet metal and having longitudinal reinforcing ribs I9 -l9 formed therein, is pivotally mounted at its end upon the pivot mounting portion l5 by means of a pivot stud 20 and extends beneath the retainingstrap portion l6 and above the ears ll-ll, being provided forwardly of the ears and at its under side with a coilspring 2| secured thereto by a U-shape clip 22 engaged over the inner end of the spring and having its ends engagedthrough slots 23 23 in the lever and secured by bending over these ends. The outer curved end of the spring extends between the ears l'l-l'l and hooks upon thelower one. i

The inner surfaces ofthe side walls of the retaining strap portion [6 diverge and constitute. limiting stops to limit the swing of the lever 18, being respectively substantially parallel to the upper and lower edgesof the leverin the respec-. tive upper position of the lever, when the same is disengaged from the keeper and pressed upwardly by the spring, and in the lower position when it is manually pressed downwardly against the pressure of the spring.

The outer end portion of the lever I8 is bent toward the hood, as at 24, and at its extremity is bent at right angles, as at 25, to provide a keeper engaging portion, this portion 25 being provided for this purpose with an upwardly extending lug 26 having a; slightly inclined forward edge.

An exterior handle member 21, having a shank portion 28 extending through an arcuate slot 29 in the hood, is rigidly secured to the portion 24 of the lever, the end of the shank being fiatted, as at 30 3 0, and screw-threaded, and engaged through a correspondingly shaped aperture 3| in the portion 24, to which it is secured by anut 32 screwed upon the threaded shank.

While any suitable type of keeper may be provided, I have shown the same as a right -angularly bent downwardly disposed bar 33 secured to the inset abutment flange H by means of rivets 34'34,' the abutment fiange beingcut away,

as at 35, to provide an entrance passage for the end of the catch lever. V

In operation, the hood is drawn downwardly by downward pressure on the catch handles 21 at each end of 'the hood, the abutment of the lower edge of the catch levers [8 with the lower walls of the strap portions I6 causingthe downwardpressure of the levers to be firmly transmitted to thehood, so that it is effectually pulled [down to its full limit with facility. When fully pulled down the hood is pressed inwardly disposing thelugs 26 of the levers l8 inwardly of the keepers, so that upon release the levers spring against the radiator and cowl abutments I |-H, the'inward pressure of the levers through the transversely rigid connection with the hood;

causes the hood to be slightly sprung or warped, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 6, being held in this position by the inherent springiness ofthe hood and exerting such pressure upon the hoodthat the hood ends are firmly pressed inwardly against the abutments 11- I.

j To disengage the catch from its keeper the handle 21 is simply pressed downwardly and the h'oodswung outwardly, the spring 2| moving the lever to its inoperative position against the upper wall of the strap portion l6.

I have illustrated and described a preferred and satisiactory embodiment of the invention,

1 but it will be obvious that changes may be made therein, within the spirit and scope thereof, as definedin the appended claims. V

' ,Having thus described my invention what I t l a 1. Automobile hood fastening means for enclaim and desire to'secure by Letters Patent is gaging a keeper disposed upon a fixed part in relation to theend of the hood, comprising a mounting fixture adapted to be secured to the interior of the hood, a catch lever pivotally j mounted atone end upon said mounting fixture upon a portion of said fixture underlying said lever, said lever hav'ing a keeper engaging portion at the other end, said'mounting fixture having a movement limiting bridging portion between the pivotal mounting of said lever and the keeper engaging portion having a transverse portion and side Walls, said transverse portion being disposed at the side of said lever opposed to the hood side, whereby said lever is substantially rigidly supported thereby with'respect to the pivotal axis againstv inward pressure on the keeper engaging end of said lever, the side walls of said bridging portion constituting movement limiting stops for limiting the swing of' said lever about said axis, spring means cooperating between said catch lever andsaid mounting fixture and exerting up- ;w'ard pressure on said catch lever, and a handle secured to said-catch lever between said bridging portion and said keeper engaging portion extending tothe exterior of the hood, said catch lever adapted to be depressed in closing the hood to pull the hood downwardly and to spring upwardly to engage said keeper under the pressure of said spring means, the-effective -spring movement of said catch lever being irom a point below its point of engagement with the keeper to a point above said point of engagement whereby a continuous downward pressure is exerted on the hood.

2. Automobile hood fastening means for engaging a keeper disposed upon a fixed part in relation to the endof the hood, the hood in its closed position beinglimited in its inward movement by engagementof its end portions with a fixed part, comprising a mounting [fixture adapted to be mounted upon the interior of the hood at one end 'in longitudinally spaced relation to the point 'of engagement V of said hood with said fixed part, and said hoodrbeing inherently re silient, a catch-lever pivotally mounted at oneend upon said mounting fixture for rotation. about an axis normally perpendicular to the hood surface and having a keeper engaging portion at its other end,,.sa'id mounting'fixture having amovement limiting portion between the pivotal mounting of said lever and the keeper engaging portion disposed at one side of said lever whereby said lever is substantially rigidly supported thereby with respect .to said axis, spring means cooperating between said mounting fixture and said catch lever "and adapted to press said catch lever upwardly into engagement with said keeper, a handle secured to said catch lever between said mounting fixture and saidkeeper engaging .p'ore tion and extending to the exterior 'of' the hood,

said catch means being movable "in generally parallel relation 'to the normal .planeiof, the hood, and said keeperyengaging portion being normally transversely outwardly of its keeper engaging position, and being furthenmovableby inward pressure'in a transverse direction to the normal plane of the hood to engage said keeper, the engagement of said catch with said keeper adapted through said rigid support of said mounting fix-- ture to warp'the hood between its ends, whereby the inherent resiliency of the hood sets up pres-o sure to press its ends inwardly against'said fixed part ARTHUR cLAUn-MANTLE; 

